Leadership, Wisdom, Vocation
John Beeson
Anger, Retaliation, and My Scion xB

I drove a little manual 2005 Scion xB for about eight years. It finally gave out after 230,000 miles. I loved that little car. It was fuel-efficient and required minimal maintenance. But it is undeniably close to the least powerful car on the road. I’m pretty sure that on its specs, next to 0-60mph, it says, “Eventually!”

Unless I was lined up against someone from a nearby retirement community, I was the last car to reach the speed limit coming off a stoplight. Unsurprisingly, more aggressive drivers with more powerful vehicles tended to treat my little Scion like a safety cone on the road, more like an obstacle than a fellow traveler.

Anger, Retaliation, and My Scion xB
Family, Leadership, Parenting, Marriage
John Beeson
The Top Ten Ways to Lead in Your Home (and ...

In the past post we considered the biblical priority of leading in our homes before stepping into leadership callings outside of our home.

When I was asked to speak to our Mom’s Matter group on leading well in the home I was a bit intimidated. I felt far from equipped to speak as a man to women on the topic of leadership. And so, I did the only thing I could think of: I asked wise, godly women who were also great leaders. Starting with my wife, I began to listen to the advice my female friends offered on leadership in the home and beyond.

The Top Ten Ways to Lead in Your Home (and Organization, Too!)
Christian Living, Family, Marriage, Parenting
John Beeson
Leadership In Your Home and Beyond

Who are the most influential leaders in your life? What made them such great leaders?

I fear that our cultural understanding of leadership is going further astray from true leadership. We Americans seem to have a bizarre attraction to two types of leaders: celebrities and powerful communicators with bold, brash opinions. We judge leaders by the size of their platform.

Some time ago I was asked to speak to the Moms Matter group in our church about healthy leadership in the home and beyond. One of the comments made by the leadership team was that many moms believe they “don’t need to be or can’t be a leader because they are just moms.” We can all similarly dismiss ourselves.

Leadership In Your Home and Beyond
Christian Living, Religion, Spiritual Growth
John Beeson
Jesus Responds to the Inclusivist

I bet you hold Jesus in high regard. Nearly everyone does, no matter their religious leaning. We’ve been considering the position of the inclusivist. Let’s invite Jesus into the conversation.

With love in his eyes, Jesus begins, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6).

Jesus is no inclusivist. How would he respond to the inclusivist?

The Bible claims that Jesus is our only rescue. Throughout the pages of the New Testament, writer after writer and Jesus himself claim that Jesus Christ alone connects humankind back to God. Jesus claims he is no mere human being, but is God himself.

Jesus Responds to the Inclusivist
Christian Living, Religion, Theology
John Beeson
An Elephant and a Cure: the Challenge of the ...

One of the most persuasive stories told by inclusivists is an old parable about five blind men and an elephant. Five blind men approach an elephant.

One touches the massive side of the elephant and exclaims, “An elephant is like a wall!”

The second touches the elephant's tusk, and feeling it says, “An elephant is like a spear!”

The third grabs hold of the elephant's trunk and exclaims, “An elephant is like a python!”

The fourth grabs the elephant’s leg and declares, “An elephant is like a tree!”

The fifth grabs hold of the elephant’s tail and states, “An elephant is like a rope!”

An Elephant and a Cure: the Challenge of the Inclusivist

Joe Carter

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Lifetimes in landscapes: Brianna Lambert with a wonderfully evocative piece of writing, “He grew up in the foothills of the forest. Where the horizon disappeared behind the blue ridges. He’d spend his days with his eyes lifted towards the clouds that kissed the forehead of the mountaintops.”

  2. How to get the most out of your counseling sessions: Jason Hsieh says, “Just as you would take a doctor’s medical prescriptions seriously. You can do this by regularly reviewing those particular biblical perspectives and following through on any new habits to form that you discuss.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. If you use any of these 9 phrases every day, ‘you’re more emotionally secure than most’: 8 of Dr. Cortney Warren’s list of 9 are excellent (I’ll let you spot which one is problematic). Here are two good ones:“Let me think about that before I respond,” and “Am I like that?”

  2. Christian unity is deeper than ‘getting along’: Trevin Wax reflects on the riches of Jesus’ prayer in John 17, “Jesus wants his followers to be one as a way of participating in the oneness of the triune God.”

  3. Social media is causing our children to suffer: Joe Carter reports, “The U.S. surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, has issued a warning about the potential risks of social media on children’s mental health. Here’s why Christian parents should be concerned—and what we can do to protect our kids.”

  4. Gospel-shaped leaders communicate with grace-filled candor: Scott Thomas’s visual is helpful in considering how to move toward Christ-honoring communication. He says, “The goal of grace-filled candor is to find a solution to the conflict while deepening relationships with others.”

  5. The most common dad joke in each US state: This is pretty great. Although, I cry foul on a bunch of aphorisms masquerading as supposed “jokes.” Pennsylvania takes the cake as the most prolific dad-joking state with Oregon and Mississippi taking a strong anti-dad-joke stand.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Is ‘Be True to Yourself’ Good Advice? Brian Rosner begins, “You don’t need to look far today to notice that personal identity is a do-it-yourself project. A gym near where I live advertises itself with the slogan: “Be Fit. Be Well. Be You.” A new apartment complex around the corner, offering high-end luxury design, carries the byline: “An Unlimited You.” People think about themselves constantly, it seems, and with high expectations!”

  2. The Dead Seriousness of Careless Words: Tim Challies concludes, “And as it is right and just that there be an accounting for the careless performance of tasks, it is right and just that there be an accounting for the careless uttering of words. For words can bring harm every bit as much as deeds.”

  3. The Internet is More Powerful Than the Printing Press: Chris Martin makes the argument. “The internet is the most consequential technological advancement in human history.1 The most common retort to this hot take of mine is, "Yeah but the printing press.”

  4. Reflections on Temptation from Peter’s Sifting: Wendy Willard shares, “God intends for us to be joined with Jesus so perfectly that we cannot be sifted out—or strained—regardless of how hard Satan shakes—or boils—us. Those negative statements we hear in our head? What if that’s Satan “sifting” us, trying to see if he can separate us from our Savior?”

  5. The Land is Bright: Jake Meador celebrates the overturning of Roe. “Overthrowing Roe is not the totality of what our response to abortion ought to be, nor does it mean that the culture of death has been defeated (or the culture of life established), nor does it mean that our work to promote a culture of life is done. It simply means that one highly significant step in the quest to create a culture of life has been taken. But more must follow.”

  6. FAQs: Supreme Court Overturns Roe, Sends Abortion Back to States: Joe Carter explains, “This is one of the most significant acts of justice in modern history. While ruling brings only a change of direction, not an end, to the fight over abortion, it is an essential victory for the pro-life cause that should be celebrated by all Christians. Roe was one of the most evil and repugnant decisions of jurisprudence in our nation’s history, on par with Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) and Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1. 15 GOOD News Trends from 2020: How refreshing is this article by Joe Carter? It includes good news about terrorism, abortion, and numbers in the prison system. He concludes with this piece of good news, “The U.S. Supreme Court continued a pattern of preventing restrictions on religious liberty. The Supreme Court closed out its 2020 term with three significant victories for religious liberty—continuing a 10-year series of wins for religious freedom.”

2. The Six Costs of Sin: William Boekestein with an excellent breakdown of just how costly sin is. He says that, “Reflecting on the manifold cost of sin can warn our souls against wandering from the safe path of faithfulness.”

3. The Beauty and Burden of Nostalgia: Jared Wilson explains why, as good as nostalgia can be, it is also dangerous. He explains first that, “This is what nostalgia promises us—an exit from the tyranny of progress, the chaos of everything we see on the news and in our neighborhood.”

4. Love, According to E.B. White: My friend Brianna Lambert explains how E.B. White gives us three different stories to explain three different definitions of love, “In the course of these three novels, E.B. White slows down and invites his reader to learn three very unique definitions of love.”

5. Atheism’s Empty Soul: Alan Shlemon explains the inevitable end of naturalism, “Atheists don’t have a livable worldview. I don’t say that to gloat. Several atheists who have been candid with me have told me life is ultimately empty and devoid of meaning. That doesn’t mean they can’t feel happy, follow a set of morals, or believe their life is significant in some way. But their denial of God has serious repercussions.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1. What You Need to Know About the Devil’s Tricks: Andrew Menkis illuminates the attacks of the enemy as they relate to beliefs and persecution. He draws parallels between today and the first-century Roman context and then encourages us, “First, as Christians, we can be joyful in the face of persecution because we know God uses it to sanctify us. We learn to walk in faith when we are persecuted. Knowing that we are united to Christ by faith gives us confidence that He will sustain us through all trials that come our way.”

2. How to Expose the Idols of Your Heart: Joe Carter begins, “Few stories in the Old Testament tend to make us feel more superior to the Israelites than the tale of the golden calf in Exodus 32:1–6. How backwards they must have been to think you could make a god out of metal! How silly to think bringing offerings to a statue would bring peace, joy, and happiness! The entire story is almost too absurd to believe. Or at least, until we examine our own idols.”

3. 3 Blessings of Seeing Our Sin: Ed Welch suggests that, “Suffering feels like our biggest problem and avoiding it like our greatest need—but we know that there is something more. Sin is actually our biggest problem, and rescue from it is our greatest need. There is a link between the two.”

4. The Biggest Threat Faced By the Church: Keith Mathison begins, “What is the biggest threat faced by the church today? Many in the U.S. seem to think the answer is government tyranny.”

5. Hamidolph: If you like Hamilton, you have got to see this. One of the most fun things I’ve seen in a while.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1.      Hormones, Surgery, Regret: I was a Transgender Woman for 8 Years--Time I Can't Get Back: Surprising story to read in USA Today by Walt Heyer: "I lived as “Laura” for eight years, but, as I now know, transitioning doesn’t fix the underlying ailments. Studies show that most people who want to live as the opposite sex have other psychological issues, such as depression or anxiety."

2.      13 Ways We Justify, Rationalize, or Ignore Negative Feedback: One of the best articles I've read this year. Peter Bregman of Harvard Business Review says, " It doesn’t feel good to be told you missed the mark. And, since feedback often uncovers our blind spots, it’s especially jarring because, in many cases, we thought we were doing a good job. So we don’t immediately or intuitively agree with the validity of it (we tend not to believe things we can’t see ourselves)."

3.      The Danger of Drama: When we stir up drama, Heidi St. John says, we are sinning: " If you need to address something that should be handled in private, then do it privately. If you’ve been hurt, don’t put it on the internet. Season your speech with grace."

4.      Don't Put Your Hope in Date Night: Interesting perspective by Emily Jensen and Laura Wifler, "In our modern, Western, first-world culture, our margin for romantic love is a blessing. Many of us have the freedom to select a spouse who matches our preferences and makes us feel weak in the knees—particularly in those first few months of dating. This is a joy and a privilege. As those ideas carry into marriage, we tend to continue emphasizing the importance of romantic feelings. But are cultivating these feelings through date nights essential in God-honoring marriages?"

5.      Beware of Broken Wolves: I resonate with Joe Carter's advice here about protecting oneself from a certain type of leader: "But there is a particularly nasty breed that often goes unnoticed, a type that we might call the “Broken Wolf.” These are the false teachers who use their own authenticity, pain, and brokenness to attract believers who are also suffering and broken—and then using their “brokenness” to lead the sheep to turn away from God’s Word and embrace sin. They blend into the flock because Christians are not—and should not be—suspicious of broken people. They appear “in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matt. 7:15)."

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1.     Most Americans Find Meaning in Family, Not Faith: I wrote on this topic and believe that this is a particularly entrenched issue for the American church. Helen Gibson reports, "Almost 7 in 10 Americans (69 percent) mentioned family when describing where they find a sense of meaning...[Meanwhile] 36 percent said religion provided them “a great deal” of meaning and fulfillment in the...survey."

2.     10 Critical Religious Liberty Cases coming in 2019: Joe Carter surveys the landscape of important cases forthcoming in 2019.

3.     Know That It’s Worth It: Melissa Edgington on raising true disciples, “When we pray that our children will have tender hearts toward the things of God, when we pray that they will be radically devoted to Him, we must also be prepared for what that really means. And we must remind each other, over and over again: it’s worth it. He is worth it. We can rely on Him to see our children through as they blaze a path of faithfulness through a world that has been dulled by complacency and hopelessness. This is what we have been praying for. God give us the faith and the perseverance to see it through, even when our hearts break. Following Christ isn’t easy. But it’s worth it.”

4.     Royal Museums Space Photography Competition: Amazing, amazing, amazing. A glimpse of heaven.

5.     Who Steals a Cheese Grater? Or soap? Things to ponder :).

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1.      The Rise in Transgenderism and Bisexuality: Joe Carter reports that, “Notice that only 6.8 percent of women identified as lesbian or bisexual, yet more than double that number had engaged in same-sex sexual contact. The phrase ‘bi-curious’ has come to be used to refer to such people who are “interested in having a same gender sexual experience without necessarily labeling their sexual orientation as bisexual.’ Social contagion is the only adequate explanation for why so many women have become bi-curious in such a short period of time.” 

2.      The Apostle Paul Was a Widower: Denny Burk explains his position, “’It is good for them to remain… as I am.’ ‘Remain” means to continue on in a certain state of existence. In their case, that state was one of widowhood. And Paul says “as I am.” This suggests that Paul is putting himself into the same category that they are. But it is not a category of singleness in general but a category of widowhood in particular. It is for this reason that many interpreters—including myself—believe that these words imply that Paul was previously married.”

3.      Old Testament Law Did Not Require a Woman to Marry Her Rapist: The idea that OT law required a woman to marry her rapist has been used often as a bully club against the ethics of the Bible. After establishing that the word should not be should not be translated ‘rape’ Katie McCoy explains the purpose of the law, “Under Hebrew law, a man was forbidden to exploit a woman as an object of pleasure. He was held accountable publicly for his indiscretion and held responsible for her future wellbeing. In other words, he couldn’t use her and lose her. Far from exploiting or oppressing women, this passage shows that biblical law held men accountable for their sexual behavior.”

4.      The Pope is Popular, But Not Impacting Roman Catholic Growth: Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra reports, “A Pew Research Center survey released today found ‘no evidence of a rise in the share of Americans who identify as Catholics [22% in 2012 vs. 20% in 2017], and no indication of a Francis-inspired resurgence in Mass attendance [41% weekly in 2012 vs. 38% weekly in 2017].’”

5.      How to Dance to Attract Girls: Rhett teaches Link how to dance in a way that attracts women based on a scientific study. Hilarity ensues.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1.       Netflix Thinks You're Bored and Lonely: Trevin Wax pushes back on the way our culture thinks about boredom, "The entertainment industry expects us to see boredom as bad, which is why advertisers, sponsors, filmmakers, and game-makers collaborate to create shows, movies, and games that will capture our attention and keep us preoccupied. There’s money to be made in eliminating boredom. But is boredom always a problem, or could it be a possibility? Talk to people whose job it is to make things with their hands or create things in their head, and they’ll tell you that great things happen when your mind runs free."

2.       Ruth Graham Didn’t Waste Her Life: Dave Boehi reflects on the lessons we can learn from the beautiful marriage of Ruth and Billy Graham. He reflects on Ruth’s sacrifice, “One writer for The Washington Post wrote, ‘What a sign of those times, one might say. Or, how sad. The world will never know what else Ruth Graham … could have accomplished …’ What the world often fails to understand is that God often calls people to set aside their own plans in order to follow Him … and then He uses them in greater ways as a result.”

3.       Evidence of Evangelical Political Pragmatism: A discouraging survey I recently came across. Self-described evangelicals' position on how important a politician's morality is has shifted dramatically since the 1990s. And not in a good way.

4.       High-Stakes Leadership: This Read to Lead podcast with Constance Derickx is loaded with good stuff. Derickx definition of courageous impatience and patience particularly struck me.

5.       Why (almost) No One Wants to Host the Olympics Anymore: The 2004 games garnered 12 bids from around the world. Zeeshan Aleem reports that the next two summer and winter Olympics received a total of two bids each. Why? Former cities who hosted the Olympics are littered with unsightly abandoned facilities and a huge price tag for the honor: "Pyeongchang, South Korea, built a brand new Olympic stadium to host the Winter Games this year. The 35,000-seat stadium cost $109 million to build. And it will be used just four times before it’s demolished."

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